http://bobmonette.ca/CO/en/home East End Councillors to consult with residents in advance of Budget 2016   Ottawa – Orléans residents will have several opportunities in the coming weeks to take part in pre-budget consultations in advance of the City of Ottawa Budget 2016. These opportunities are in addition to Mayor Jim Watson’s telephone town hall held in June and the [email protected] email address. The East End Councillors are inviting residents to attend the following consultation:   Saturday, September 26 10 a.m. to noon Place d’Orléans Shopping Centre, Community Kiosk Councillors Stephen Blais (Cumberland Ward), Jody Mitic (Innes Ward), Bob Monette (Orléans Ward) and Tim Tierney (Beacon Hill-Cyrville Ward)   Suggestions and ideas arising from these consultations will be brought forward for consideration before the Mayor and City staff develop the draft budget, which will be tabled later this fall. To assist residents in preparing for these meetings background information and budget resource materials are available at ottawa.ca. Residents may also offer budget input by sending an email directly to [email protected]. Learn more about the City’s budget process with the resources at ottawa.ca/citybudget.     Householder Flyers For a copy of my latest householder flyers, please click the links below:  Community Outreach Flyer 2013 Orléans: Your summer long Caribbean Experience Queenswood Heights Community BBQ 2012 Year End Wrap-up Monette Ranks Priorities for Orléans Community Outreach Flyer 2012 2011 Year End Wrap-up LIGHT RAIL COMING TO ORLÉANS   OTTAWA – Today, the City of Ottawa is recommending Light Rail be extended to Orléans in the second phase of the light rail plan. “This is exciting news for Orléans and all of Ottawa,” says Blais. “A fully integrated, city wide, rail system is the future of public transit in Ottawa and this is another important step in achieving that goal.” On July 13, 2011 City Council passed a resolution brought forward by Councillor Blais that said: staff be directed to fully assess the feasibility and relative priority of rapid transit investment in the east and develop an option to provide a rapid transit rail solution to Orléans at the earliest opportunity, respecting the affordability model established within the 2011 LRFP for Transit and that this work inform the Transportation Master Plan update. “This was the first time City Council had said we should look to find ways to bring LRT to Orléans sooner rather than later,” adds Blais.  “People have always asked me if I support the 174 or Innes corridor. My response has always been that whichever one will obtain light rail sooner will be my preference. I am sure that the Orléans Chamber of Commerce and the business community will share in the excitement of this announcement” stated Monette. “With the recent employment announcement, I am proud to announce that Orléans is open for business”. According to the most up-to-date and comprehensive travel data for the City of Ottawa, the Public Transit Modal Split from Orléans to Downtown Ottawa is 64%. This represents the highest modal split to downtown of any community in Ottawa. Given that Ottawa has the highest transit modal split in North America for a medium size city of approximately 1 million people, it is likely that the 64% transit mode split from Orléans to Downtown Ottawa is the highest suburban to downtown transit modal split in North America for a city of comparable size “The residents of Orléans & Cumberland deserve LRT in our community,” says Blais. “The communities commitment to public transit is being recognized by the investment in extending LRT to Orléans.” "We are getting more done for the east," says Councillor Tiermey. The Transportation Master Plan is recommending a corridor along HWY 174 to bring LRT to the heart of Orléans. “LRT can be a game changer for Orléans,” says Blais.  “Not only will it make the commute downtown faster and more comfortable, it opens Orléans to a huge potential for economic development bringing high quality, high paying jobs to Orléans.” Additionally, by establishing LRT adjacent to HWY 174, it allows the opportunity to potentially widen the 174 with a minor alteration of the existing bus lanes, which will no longer be needed once LRT is built. "And advanced extension to Orléans is a positive step for transportation and economic development for our residents," adds Bloess.   Facts: Orléans is the largest of Ottawa’s suburban communities. 40% of urban expansion is happening in Cumberland Ward. With 35% of trips using public transit Orléans has by far the highest ridership of any of the suburban communities and outpaces the City average of 20%. With 64% of downtown commuters using public transit – it is believed Orléans has the highest modal split in North America. Orléans has the lowest projected employment growth and household to job ratio of any of the suburban communities.   -30- en